Do you want to stay young? Running, swimming, skiing and cycling to age better

Endurance training rather than weight helps people to overcome old age

Researchers have discovered that endurance exercises, such as running, swimming, cross-country skiing and cycling, help you age better than resistance exercises. Resistance training is a strength training with weights.

In a study published in the European Heart Journal, German researchers examined the effects of three types of exercises – endurance training, high intensity interval training, and exercise. Resistance training – on the behavior of cells in the age of the human body. They found that endurance and high intensity workouts slowed down or even reversed cellular aging, but resistance training did not.

Endurance and high intensity workouts slow or even reverse cellular aging, but this training does not

Our DNA is organized into chromosomes in all the cells of our body. At the end of each chromosome is a repetitive sequence of DNA, called telomere, that caps the chromosome and protects its ends from deterioration.

As we age, telomeres shorten, which is an important molecular mechanism for cellular aging, which can eventually lead to cell death when telomeres are no longer able to protect chromosomal DNA. The process of shortening telomeres is regulated by several proteins. Among them, the telomerase enzyme is able to thwart the process of shortening and can even add length to the telomeres.

Researchers led by Professor Ulrich Laufs, of the University of Leipzig, Germany, recruited 266 healthy but previously inactive young volunteers and randomly badigned them in six months of endurance training (continuous running) , high intensity interval training (warm up, followed by four sessions). intensive training (circuit training on eight machines, including back extension, crunch, pulldown, seated rowing, bending of seated legs and extension, seated chest press and squeezed legs) or in a of life unchanged (control group).

Professor Laufs stated, "Our main finding is that, compared to the start of the study and the control group, in volunteers who performed endurance training and high intensity, telomerase activity and length of Telomeres were increased, two important factors for cell aging, and therefore, to age in good health. Interestingly, resistance training did not exert these effects. "

The telomerase activity was multiplied by two or three and telomere length was significantly increased in endurance training and high intensity groups compared with resistance groups and control.

"The study identifies a mechanism by which endurance training – but not resistance training – improves healthy aging. It may be useful to design future studies on this important subject using telomere length as an indicator of "biological age" in future intervention studies, "said Professor Laufs.